Year 9 OLMC student Gabriella Wehbe was selected 'to step into the shoes' of the College Principal for a day on Thursday June 6, 2013.

Gabriella, a member of the College’s SRC, was selected by her peers to be the first OLMC student to take the reins as Principal. Miss Wehbe says she fees privileged and very fortunate to have been given this opportunity.

A national initiative of the Principals Australia Institute (PAI), Student Principal for a Day saw Student Principals around the country engaging in online conversations about leadership and the issues relevant to today's students.

Gabriella participated in a typical day as a Principal by running Year Group Assemblies, staff briefings, doing playground duty and introducing the College’s annual Variety Night matinee show.

OLMC Principal Kitty Guerin says it is great for a student to have the chance to see the College from her perspective; “We are always challenging our girls to consider new perspectives and be open minded and this is a fun, non-traditional way of doing this.”

Director of Pastoral Care, Anne-Maree Donnelly says the College jumped at the opportunity to come on board with such an innovative initiative: “Principal for a day gives Gabriella an opportunity to witness fist hand the complexity of leading a large organisation like OLMC.”

SRC Mentor Helen Townend says the College’s involvement in this program continues OLMC’s long tradition of encouraging girls to develop leadership skills that will allow them to become confident and articulate young women.

Find out more information about what’s on in the OLMC community.

Variety Night was a great display of the range of creative talents of students and staff at OLMC. In the theme of “Girls Run the World, with music, dance and song, the show was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience of students, families, ex-students and staff.

Performers entertained with hits from contemporary songstresses such as Rhianna and Lady Gaga as well as a host of retro tunes from Cyndi Lauper and other 20th century female icons.

The teachers, Mr Witney, Mrs Eldridge, Mrs Mistry, Mrs McNulty, all those who helped backstage and all the students who participated should be very proud of what they achieved.

Before Variety Night, a sausage sizzle was held to raise money for the Cambodia Immersion at the end of the year. The staff, Ms Herd, Ms Sunner and Mr Llewellyn-Evans and the girls going to Cambodia sold treats to patrons and managed to raise over $1000 for the Immersion.

On Monday April 8, OLMC hosted the 2013 Kid’s View social justice conference which aims to help students explore the complex reality of poverty and encourage them to action.

The conference is organised by Bahay Tuluyan (House of Welcome), a Filipino non-government organisation that works with children who have been abused, exploited and neglected. Conference facilitator Catherine Scerri, an Australian volunteer who has worked in the Philippines with street children for over nine years, says the conference is a chance to engage young people to become motivated to learn more about the world and challenge them to build a socially just world.

Through dance, drama and song, two former street children, Aisa Flavier and Gary Alcedo shared their personal tales of living in poverty and how their lives were transformed through Bahay Tuluyan; these teenagers are now community leaders, empowering others to change their situation. After the performance, students joined interactive workshops led by passionate young people to explore complex issues of work, education, health and food for people living in poverty.

The College has hosted the conference for over five years now and Catherine Scerri says it is evident that OLMC girls have particularly a solid grounding in social justice “they show compassion and are empathetic; their questions demonstrate that they are really interested and open to being inspired”.

Year 9 student Ilaria Trecapelli said the speakers and activities were inspiring: “It made me realize just how less fortunate other people are. As soon as I walked out of the room at the end of the day I was already coming up with ideas of how I could make a difference”

Workshop leader Therese Canty is an OLMC ex-student (and Head Girl) who volunteered with Bahay Tuluyan whiles studying a science degree at university. Therese said her experience of the conference when she was a student at OLMC prompted her to become involved; “ social justice at school and the focus on Mercy values has definitely influenced my post school life and choices.”

Mercy girls have this year again achieved impressive HSC results, including a first in the state, reflecting the College’s well established tradition of academic excellence.

The College again significantly outperformed the average for all schools, both public and private, and achieved some superior results including:
• 1st and 3rd in the state in Community and Family Studies
• 10th in the state in Studies of Religion II
• Top ATAR of 99.45
• Exceptional English results

Melissa Wehbe says she was very surprised when she received her ATAR of 99.45: “I think my support network was vital to me achieving this mark. My friends, who also achieved very high marks, were my study buddies, especially for Extension 2 Maths. My family was also really supportive. My teachers were all so fantastic. OLMC is like a family – I love it.” Melissa is planning to study medicine.

Sarah-Jane Eltakchi, who was placed first in the state in Community and Family studies, says the subject was one of her most enjoyable. “I think it is taught really well at OLMC, with great teachers”. With an impressive ATAR of 97.05 Sarah-Jane is planning to study Occupational Therapy and thinks her CAFS study will help her to understand patient and family dynamics in that work.

Kitty Guerin says the class of 2012 demonstrates the benefits of a Mercy education: “Mercy girls leave the College as confident young women, armed with vital tools necessary to navigate 21st century life and work and capable of going into any area they choose. Each year we see over 95% of girls going on to tertiary studies and pursuing a wide range of career options. We wish these girls every success in their future.”

Prime Minister Julia Gillard visited OLMC on Friday September 21, 2012 with the Education Minister, Peter Garrett, and the Local Member for Parramatta, Julie Owens.

Mrs Guerin said it was an historic day for the College: “There was such a buzz about the College and everyone was so excited, not just the girls. The students gave the Prime Minister a big cheer in the playground and she seemed to really enjoy meeting our girls and speaking with them.”

The Prime Minister toured many of the College’s new facilities: in the Catherine McAuley Library Ms Gillard met with the newly elected students leaders and held a forum, answering their varied questions from what it is like to be a female Prime Minister to more topical questions. In the Science Labs she joined a Year 9 class who were learning about electricity before heading to the new Christina Creede Music Centre to hear one of the College’s 17 music ensembles perform. After meeting staff in the Barbara McDonough Student Centre, the Prime Minister waved to the scores of girls lining the balconies in the courtyard then returned to the Christina Creede Music Centre to answer questions from the media.

Principal Kitty Guerin says OLMC was very pleased to host Australia’s first female Prime Minister: “In the last 12 months we have hosted some of Australia’s strongest female role models including the Governor of NSW Marie Bashir AC, CVO and the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, AC, CVO. The College’s culture of excellence has always encouraged girls to think they can achieve anything they set their minds to and having visits from these wonderful women definitely reinforces this and provides inspiration to the girls”.

A number of OLMC students were awarded places in special Science programs for gifted and talented students.

At the end of 2012, high achieving students in Years 8 and 9 were offered the opportunity to sit for the entrance examination for a holiday program held at Sydney University. The program is highly competitive and the entrance examination was very challenging. Rebecca Castor, Lauren Goodwin and Sabrina Leung of Year 9 were all offered a place in the program.

Year 8 students who had achieved good results in Year 7 were invited to apply for a place in a Forensic Science holiday program held at the Armidale school. Claire McKinley, Bridget Kirwan, Vevien Fornolles, Kenisha Pudun and Amelia O’Reilly were successful in their application and attended the program over the April holidays and came back thrilled by the experience.

On the evening of Wednesday April 3, families looking to enrol their daughters into Year 7 at OLMC in 2015 were invited to attend the Enrolment Information Evening.

After touring the College with our senior leader tour guides, visiting key facilities throughout the College, visitors made their way to the Edith Angel Hall to for an information session, hearing about the benefits of an OLMC education from the Principal, Deputy Principal: Teaching & Learning and the Director of Pastoral Care. They also heard first hand from Mercy girls including the Head Girl and Assistant Head girl and two Year 7 students.

This was followed by a sausage sizzle in the Francis Kearney Playground, generously provided by the College's P&F.

Jodie Rodrigues (Year 12) and Imogen King (Year 11) have both qualified for the Australian World Debating Team. These girls will travel to Durban, South Africa to compete during April. This is an outstanding achievement and we are proud of both girls. We wish them well and would like to acknowledge the OLMC Alumnae and the Parents and Friends Association for their support.

OLMC is now taking applications from girls entering Years 7, 9 or 11 in 2014 for Mercy Scholarships in the areas of Academic Excellence and Music Excellence.

Click here for more details and to apply.

For more information contact the Enrolment Officer on 8838 1222 or email enrolment@olmc.nsw.edu.au

On Thursday May 23 over 150 women and girls attended the Mother Daughter Mass in the Mother Mary Clare Dunphy Memorial Chapel. Parramatta Diocesan priest, Father Suresh Kumar led the Eucharist and offered valuable insights. Father Suresh affirmed mothers, grandmothers and the women in the students’ lives who often go the extra mile to care, protect and nurture our students.

Director of Mission Claire Thomas says the Mass is an important event in the College Calendar; "It is through the Eucharist that we give thanks for all that is good in our lives".

On Tuesday May 21, Year 12 hosted a Biggest Morning Tea to raise money for the Cancer Council on the colonnades of the Janet Woods Building. They baked fearlessly on Monday evening to generously supply a huge amount of treats - so much so that the event had to extend to lunch time. Staff also donated some food so together with Year 12 contributions, there was a myriad of crackers, fruit platters biscuits and a host of home made cakes.

The event raised $950 for the Cancer Council.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard visited OLMC on Friday September 21, 2012 with the Education Minister, Peter Garrett, and the Local Member for Parramatta, Julie Owens.

Mrs Guerin said it was an historic day for the College: “There was such a buzz about the College and everyone was so excited, not just the girls. The students gave the Prime Minister a big cheer in the playground and she seemed to really enjoy meeting our girls and speaking with them.”

The Prime Minister toured many of the College’s new facilities: in the Catherine McAuley Library Ms Gillard met with the newly elected students leaders and held a forum, answering their varied questions from what it is like to be a female Prime Minister to more topical questions. In the Science Labs she joined a Year 9 class who were learning about electricity before heading to the new Christina Creede Music Centre to hear one of the College’s 17 music ensembles perform. After meeting staff in the Barbara McDonough Student Centre, the Prime Minister waved to the scores of girls lining the balconies in the courtyard then returned to the Christina Creede Music Centre to answer questions from the media.

Principal Kitty Guerin says OLMC was very pleased to host Australia’s first female Prime Minister: “In the last 12 months we have hosted some of Australia’s strongest female role models including the Governor of NSW Marie Bashir AC, CVO and the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, AC, CVO. The College’s culture of excellence has always encouraged girls to think they can achieve anything they set their minds to and having visits from these wonderful women definitely reinforces this and provides inspiration to the girls”.

Brianna Holme, who was recently named as a Creative & Performing Arts Student College Leader for 2013, has begun working with music industry great, Eliot Reynolds after winning a local song writing competition earlier this year.

The competition, held at the Vault in Windsor, required entrants to perform two original songs. After wowing judges with her songs ‘Dear Georgia’ and ‘Catching Fire’, Brianna won free studio time and the chance to score tips from the internationally recognised producer and highly acclaimed guitarist who has worked with leading bands and international acts, including the Beach Boys.

“I hope to learn a lot from my studio time with Elliot Reynolds and then get stuck into writing and recording more songs, build up my portfolio of work and who knows where that could take me” says Brianna.

A keen performer since she age 11, Brianna has seen her career take off in the last three years. In 2010, she began working with vocal teacher Roxanne Kiely who taught Delta Goodrem. Last year Brianna was handpicked to attend the Academy of Country Music in Tamworth and she finished in the Top 5 nationally in the 2011 Capital Country Music Association’s National Talent Quest. In 2012, in between Open Mikes, Brianna found time to work with highly accredited lyricist, Pat Pattison, (Professor at Berklee College of Music and mentor to John Mayer and other Grammy Award Winners). In August, she came second in 'The Hills are Alive' talent quest at the Mean Fiddler.

Brianna has performed at every OLMC Variety Night since she started at the College in Year 7.

Hear about some of great things these four talented Mercy Girls have been achieving since they left school and how their time at the College shaped and continues to influence their lives.

• Click here to watch the videos